San Juan Bay
Mangrove Pilot Planting Project following the Riley Encased Methodology
(REM)
Category: Intertidal and
Wetland
Cost: $1,300 per 0.2 acre
Description: Creation of a 0.2 acre mangrove fringe by planting 200 red
mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) seedlings encased in PVC pipelines as a temporary,
protective structure for helping their establishment.
Outcome: Three months after the seedlings were planted, approximately 90%
of these had survived. By that time the seedlings had produced between two to
four leaves. However, three months later only ten (10) seedlings or 5% of those
planted remained alive. Observations indicated that the seedlings' stems were
cut by the inner edge of the PVC pipe as these moved against the PVC by the lagoon's
waves and the wind. To solve this problem, an eight (8) inches long piece of PVC
pipe with a rounded end was added and secured with a plastic cable tie to the
PVC pipes already in place. Seedlings were planted again using the eight inches
PVC pipe on early August 1998. Unfortunately, a month later, Hurricane Georges
passed through the Island. The time that had passed between the planting and the
hurricane was insufficient for the seedlings to developed a strong root system,
and as result these were washed away by the hurricane's surf and wind. Although
it is evident that the project did not meet its full objective, increased public
awareness was an outstanding achievement since more than 80 people were involve
in this project. In addition, more than half of the project's cost was shared
by other partners. Another planting effort is schedule for mid-summer 2001.
Contact: Luis Jorge Rivera Herrera, San Juan Bay Estuary Program, Luis.J.Rivera@usace.army.mil
Citation: http://mangrove.org/
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